In her recent blog post, Cassidy Cottle, Larner Medical Class of 2026, reflects on how her musical journey evolved from singing in traditional performances to discovering the profound emotional and healing power of music as a member of the Noyana Singers hospice choir.

“When I started to study medicine, I figured I was leaving music behind for everything except singing in the shower. However, shortly into my first year, I saw a blog post from a fourth-year discussing her time volunteering at the McClure Miller Respite House. As someone who worked as an emergency department technician in my gap years, I had a lot of exposure to death, but it always portrayed death as the enemy and the ultimate failure. I was hopeful that, by volunteering with the Respite House, I could start to develop a more nuanced understanding of the end of life.” — Cassidy Cottle, Larner Medical Class of 2026

Read Cottle’s full blog post on the healing power of music in hospice care